On a Saturday night in Sydney, The Walkers Room at Machine Hall is the most alive it’s ever been.
Members of different ballroom houses across Australasia glue down lashes, tighten corsets, and wipe the sweat off the brow of their siblings before they grace the stage at The Grand Silky Ball to walk, vogue, or sell realness, body or face to the judges.
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Over the muffled mics of the MCs and the sound of the iconic ballroom cymbal crash over the speakers, mothers pep talk their children, boosting their spirits if they were chopped or giving them their flowers if they got their 10s. Siblings laugh and celebrate, relishing in a beautiful, formative moment, in a space that feels safe, nourishes them, and allows them to be themselves. Others look down from the Walkers Room balcony, in awe as they watch the scene that birthed them come to life.
“Love is chosen family,” Julai, the father of the House of Diesel, told VICE.
It’s a sentiment that stuck with me the whole night as I watched house members passionately and belligerently holler from the crowd whenever someone in their house took to the stage. House chants and screams translate into words of support and deep-rooted love that lets their sibling or child know “I got you”.
This is chosen family. This is ballroom.
Celebrating 5 years of one of Australia’s most prominent houses, The House of Silky, as part of Vivid Sydney, multidisciplinary artist and photographer Puti Violet captured some of the awe-inspiring moments of the night.
Adele is the Junior Writer & Producer for VICE AU/NZ. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Follow Puti Violet on Instagram for more of her work.
